Germany

I really love Ritter Sport. They continue to really surprise and delight me with the new flavors, and the classic flavors, that their chocolate bars have. I found this bar by accident and immediately recognized the label as something now. I saw the cherries and the ice cream on the label of this one, and it told me all I needed to know for that moment. I scooped it up and bought it for this review. Ritter Sport has gotten better with getting some of the amazing flavors that they have in Germany over here to the US. I for one, am most grateful for this. Especially when the chocolate bars are as good as that waffle bar they had last year.

The package is super pretty and appealing. It has a beautiful white background with the image of a cherry ice cream come and red cherries. It’s really red heavy and catches my eye immediately. I have to admit I did not know what Amarena Cherry was so I had to look it up on Wikipedia. Long explanation short, it’s a special type of Italian cherry, which makes the image of the gelato on the front very fitting.

Opening the package and taking a sniff, the chocolate smells amazing. You immediately get the sweetness of the chocolate, but it’s all overpowered by the intense scent of a ripe, fresh, juicy black cherry. Thankfully this smells like real cherries, or should i say, real cherry syrup. It’s not at all fake or reminiscent of medicine. Breaking off my first piece, the milk chocolate has a beautiful creamy color and the center filling is a very pale pink with bright red spots on it. It’s very inviting.

The flavor is sweet, and you taste the creamy milk chocolate right away. Then, almost immediately, you taste the cherry. I am reminded of a rich cherry ice cream. It really picks up on the darker cherry flavor, as it’s much more intense and juicy. The red flecks in the filling have a slight crispy texture to them which I wasn’t expecting. The milk chocolate and the cherry flavors combined is a beautiful symphony of flavor in your mouth. It’s a great combination and isn’t as overpoweringly sweet as I anticipated. I shared this bar with my new husband, and he just adored it. He’s a big fan of cherry flavors and he told me that this is one of the best he’s ever had.

I really wish that I could find more of this bar. Sadly these were the last two when I initially found them in the store. My husband gobbled up the first one so quickly and now we’re both trying to save the last. The flavors in this are just so authentic and tasty. If you see it you really must give it a try. We both really fell in love with the flavor and we hope to find it again soon!

There are times when I love Cost Plus World Market, and there’s times when I reeealllllyy love Cost Plus World Market. They are really great for candy hunting sometimes, and on one of my more recently trips there I struck candy gold. I found a bunch of interesting flavors of Mentos there, this Fresh Cola flavor one of them.

I’ve noticed that cola as a flavor is way more prominent in candy over in Europe than it is here in the Unites States. Honestly, the only “common” candy that I can think of that’s cola flavored is the Haribo Cola Bottles, and that’s not a domestic candy!I guess I’ve just proved my own point. I guess folks here just enjoy drinking the flavor too much. So finding this flavor in Mentos really felt special to me, since I don’t get cola flavored candy very often.

The package uses an attractive red color scheme (Coca Cola anyone?) and shows a carbonated glass of cola on the right side of he logo. It looks very fresh and invigorating. The candy dragees (as the package calls them) are a muted beige color and don’t have any aroma to mention. They feel hard and I’m unable to squeeze them in my fingers.

Popping one in my mouth, I immediate get the cola flavors as it feels like it just sizzles onto my taste buds. It’s sweet, it’s spicy and have a wonderful earthiness to it. Now, I know what you all are immediately wondering: what familiar soda does it taste like? Well, it’s about 85% Pepsi in flavor I’d say. I say 85% since I feel this flavor is more complex. I get more spice and fruity flavors in these Mentos than I do wit Pepsi. This might be because Pepsi is, as a drink, not as concentrated as a flavored candy would be. Also I think that every one had as different idea as to what “cola” tastes like. The texture is nice, as they’re easily chewed and aren’t too sticky.

I really enjoyed these. I’m glad I bought two rolls of them at the time. They’re fun to eat, very flavorful, and the texture is fun. I also love how you can just have a few, twist the top of the package and you have more for later. Point being, these were awesome. The flavor is refreshingly different, and I encourage you to try them if you ever happen upon them. Or any cola candy for that matter.

If you follow the Ritter Sport page on Facebook, every month or so they hold a contest for a giveaway. I was lucky enough to win one a bit ago, and I was sent this adorable little goodie bag in the mail. How nice! It came wit ha tote bag, a lanyard, and Ritter Sport chocolate bars. It was a lot nicer than I expected, and I now have a great new bag for my work lunches and sweet for my coffee in the morning. I had reviewed all the flavors that came in this gift set, except Ritter Sport Almond, so I’ll take the opportunity to do that now.

The almond bar comes in a beautiful hunter green package. Some almonds tumble down on the package front, with the description of “with almonds frown in the California sunshine”. Almonds are California’s largest export, you know! The bar smells sweet and nutty. I get notes of cream and caramel with a hint of amaretto.

The squares break off nicely despite the large pieces of almonds in here. The chocolate is creamy and smooth and the almonds are fresh and crunchy. A really nice combination. The milk chocolate is sweet with nice notes of cream, caramel and cocoa. But don’t’ let the chocolate kid you, as the almonds are the real star here. They’re fresh and crunchy wit ha wonderful nutty flavor. It’s delicious in its simplicity.

So whether you win free chocolate from Ritter (follow them on Facebook if you want to try for that opportunity) or if you buy it in stores, you really can’t go wrong. I’m continually impressed with their chocolate and the flavors are always tasty. I highly recommend ll their chocolate bars, and am super excited for the new flavors I hear will be released later this year.

This was a find from my local Cost Plus World Market. I was thankful that they carried Lion Bar. I’ve actually had it many times over the year. I just haven’t gotten around to reviewing it yet. I then decided it’s been too long, so I went and searched it out. What I like most about is it the lion roaring on th package. There’s no description or anything that this bar is exactly. Only the words “New and Improved”. Ok I’ll take your word for it Mr. Lion.

Upon further inspection I notice a neat little detail on the package. On the wrapper where it says to recycle. They have a lion putting the paper in the bin, which is very cute.

The bar is long and knobby, like a piece of wood. I bite into it and it immediately it has an interesting texture. It’s thick and chewy with bits that are very light and crispy. Looking at the cross section, it has a wafer center, like a Kit Kat, but more delicate. Surrounding that there’s bits of peanuts, rice crispies, and caramel. It’s a very fun, tasty and complex flavor. The chocolate is smooth and sweet, but not very chocolatey. The wafers are crispy and light. The caramel is thick and sweet and the peanuts add a hint of nuttiness. It’s like a child of a Snickers and a Kit Kat.

It’s a very tasty bar. Hopefully you can understand how I keep going back to it all the time. It’s just so much fun to eat. I recommend trying it if you ever encounter it.

I believe the first Ritter Sport bar I ever recall seeing was their Marzipan bar. Something about Germany and Marizpan catching my eye, or perhaps it was the very bright red wrapper. Either way, for some reason, I always felt this was their “signature” bar. My appreciate of marzipan come from my Dad, who is a big fan of the stuff. If it wasn’t for him letting me try marzipan as a kid I probably won’t have been exposed to it until college. I immediately liked marzipan, but it’s something I only treat myself to occasionally. The I realized that I had never reviewed the Ritter Marzipan bar, thus here I am with today’s review!

The first thing about this bar is that it’s dark chocolate. Which I think is a very wise choice, as marzipan can be very sweet. The square bar smells rich and sweet and has a beautiful sheen to it.

The marzipan is delicious. It’s moist, flavorful and has a really nice texture that’s both smooth and grainy at the same time. The chocolate snaps cleanly and easily when you take a bite. It doesn’t lose its form so the marzipan won’t ooze everywhere. The dark chocolate is flavorful, it’s got some nice deep coco flavors that are a little fruity and they balance well with the nice almond flavor of the marizpan. This isn’t too sweet, it’s just right. Love it!

Out of all the marzipan bars I’ve had, I think the Ritter Marzipan bar stands up really well with the best of them. Dark chocolate and marzipan is a match made in heaven, and it’s nice to see a bar like this that’s so easily accessible in American stores. If you’ve never had marzipan before, and you’re a fan of almonds, I really think you should give it a try. This Ritter Sport bar is a great place to start.